Due to the great response I received at the Houston Assistive Technology Network Conference in June, I will be traveling back to Texas in October to share my ideas at one of the largest math conferences in the United States. The conference coincides with my fall break and also allows me to complete a series of “follow-up” visits throughout Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. I am excited about the opportunity to share with thousands of math educators!
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I shared my math manipulatives with the Inclusive Schools Network’s educational consultants on June 12th. I presented my manipulatives to them and explained how all students, including the deaf, visually impaired and blind, would benefit from using them. At the end of our meeting, they offered me an opportunity to have my products featured in their August newsletter which will go out to 3,000-4,000 subscribers and help me “get the word out” about my math manipulatives. Their offer is greatly appreciated.
My dream of a business trip to Park City, UT may actually come true! Ms. Julie Edwards, the immersion teacher at McTolin Elementary School, provided some fantastic student feedback concerning my manipulatives. According to her, the students loved the colors and how easy they were to learn to use. They liked that the products gave them a visual way to help solve their math problems.
June 4th was a busy and productive day for Slide-A-Round Math Manipulatives! I met with Ms. Lynette Johnson, Director of Special Services for Frederick County Public Schools, and she seemed impressed with the versatility of my manipulatives in helping the students solve a variety of math problems. She also thought the slide storage was a nice feature and requested a manipulative and information to share with her staff.
I had the opportunity to meet with Ms. Margaret Kursey, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction for Berkeley County Schools in Martinsburg, West Virginia, on June 4th. I was encouraged by her enthusiasm as well as her positive feedback. I look forward to providing math manipulatives to help her students master our new CCGPS Standards.
Ms. Connie Rigby and I were able to coordinate a meeting on June 18th so that I can share my ideas and products with her. She is always looking for new and better ways to meet the academic needs of her students in Boaz, Alabama.
I had the opportunity to share my manipulatives and ideas with Dr. Ron Wells on June 6th. Dr. Wells, a member of the PA Bureau of Special Education, liked the fact that I had the “follow-through” to not only create a concept to help my own students but also to manufacture my manipulatives to try to help other students. We are in the process of scheduling a follow-up meeting to give me the opportunity to present my ideas/manipulatives to his colleagues as well.
I have a meeting scheduled in Wilmington, Delaware on Friday, June 8th with Ms. Hester Sutton. I am also in the process of scheduling meetings with several schools systems in Virginia and Pennsylvania and will update soon! As a follow-up, my meeting with Ms. Sutton and Ms. Todorow of the Brandywine School District was quite productive. They are planning to share my manipulatives with their teachers, and I look forward to working with their school system.
We are looking forward to sharing our manipulatives at the Texas Assistive Technology Network Statewide Conference in Houston on June 12-14. We have had such a positive response in the Southeast and are excited about the opportunity to “branch out” into other areas of the United States. Texas, here we come!!!! I want to take a minute to update everyone on our successful trip to Houston. Due to the tremendous response I received during my meetings in WV, PA, DE, VA, I made several stops along the way to Houston in Attalla, AL; Meridian, MS; Shreveport, LA; Biloxi, MS; and Gulfport, MS. The responses I have received when educators actually see my products firsthand are OVERWHELMINGLY positive.
When I travelled to Birmingham City Schools during my spring break, Dr. David Patterson recommended that I contact Alabama’s Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) to discuss my manipulatives. I have scheduled a meeting on May 25th with Ms. Annie Spike, the CASE President-Elect in Guntersville to address the changing demographics and student needs in her system and the state.